Integrated circuit flat packs are exceedingly small. They are manufactured in the millions and are commonly placed in individual carriers that protect them during subsequent handling steps. While in the carriers, the integrated circuit flat packs can be marked and tested, for example.
Presently known integrated circuit carriers can require rather complex mechanisms for inserting the integrated circuit flat packs into the carriers. Carriers that connect to the body of the integrated circuit can interfere with subsequent marking of the flat pack body. Carriers that connect to the body of the integrated circuit also can experience difficulty in properly connecting to the body of the integrated circuit or they can inadvertently rupture the seal of a flat pack body which tends to be brittle.
It is a common practice to remove integrated circuit flat packs from their carriers to mechanically bend the leads into desired configurations for subsequent connection to printed circuit boards. The integrated circuits, after the leads are bent, are commonly placed in trays, rather than being reinserted into their individual carriers. The configurations of presently known carriers prevent integrated circuits, which have had their leads bent, from being reinserted into the carriers. Thus, the carriers are not available to protect the integrated circuits once the integrated circuits are removed and the leads modified.
Presently known integrated circuit carriers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,861 to Barnes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,277 to Barnes, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,974 to Tems; and the integrated circuit carrier of this invention represents an improvement over these integrated circuit carriers.
The integrated circuit carrier of this invention can be used with a simplified mechanism for inserting the integrated circuit flat pack into the carrier. The carrier connects to the leads of the integrated circuit, rather than the integrated circuit body; and as a result, the integrated circuit body is completely exposed at the top of the carrier for subsequent marking or other handling steps. The carrier also facilitates removal of the flat pack from the carrier, bending of the leads into desired configurations, and re-use of the flat pack carrier by reinserting the flat pack into the carrier. Even though the leads have been bent or otherwise had their configuration modified, the flat pack still can be reinserted into the carrier.